India must give assertive reply to Chinese incursions: Parties

September 17, 2009 18:12 IST

The Chinese incursions sparked sharp reactions from Indian political parties on Thursday with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagamsaying India needed a government with "steel in its spine and not jelly" so that it does not become a "punching bag", while the Samajwadi Party demanded to know the country's military preparedness.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad appealed to the countrymen to boycott purchasing of Chinese items in view of its "hostile attitude" and "evil designs" on the country's land due to repeated incursions along the Line of Actual Control.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said "aggressive steps" taken by China was not a "good step" for bilateral ties at a time when India was trying to strengthen the relations.

"It would be better to stop these things as soon as possible," he said.

In a strongly worded statement, AIADMK supremo and former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha said, "What we want is a government with steel in its spine, not jelly. Otherwise, India would become a punching bag hit around by just about anyone who takes a fancy to do so."

Describing both the Chinese incursions and ceasefire violations by Pakistan as "alarming", Jayalalithaa alleged that the "aggressive" neighbouring countries view India as the "softest and least assertive state" in terms of international relations.

The United Progressive Alliance government was so "pathetic" that even before the countries concerned went on a denial mode India gave them a "clean chit", she said.

SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav demanded that the Parliament be convened immediately and wanted to know how prepared the government was to tackle China. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorji Khandu took exception to the repeated Chinese claim made on his state and said the Centre should take a strong stand as the frontier state was an integral part of India.